Labour must reunite progressive voters to win the next election, says Lucy Powell | Labour– www.theguardian.com

Labour must “reunite the progressive voter coalition” if it is to take advantage of a split on the right and win the next election, the party’s deputy leader has said.

Lucy Powell, who won the race to be deputy leader 12 months ago with a warning that Labour was losing the fight to be heard as Reform UK surged, said the government now had a second chance under Andy Burnham.

In an interview with the Guardian, Powell said the party had clearly required a “change of leader” to revive its fortunes and tell a better story, after becoming “too technical and pessimistic”.

Labour’s improved poll ratings have led to speculation this week that Andy Burnham will call a snap election, but the prime minister rejected that on Friday and said the next contest would be in 2029.

However, the Labour conference will get underway this weekend with polls beginning to show for the first time in almost two years that Labour might be within touching distance of winning a majority at the next election – 12 months on from polls that suggested Reform UK could win a huge victory.